New Zealand has raised the alert level in Wellington as a result of an Australian tourist testing positive for COVID-19 after visiting the city over the weekend.
The increase in the alert level to 2 will come into effect at 6:00pm local time and last until at least Sunday.
The rest of New Zealand will remain on alert level 1.
The measure means social distancing rules will be in place across the city, but offices, schools and businesses can remain open.
New Zealand Minister for COVID-19 Response Chris Hipkins said the traveller tested positive after returning to Sydney from Wellington.
Authorities said the traveller was linked to an outbreak of the more contagious Delta variant.
"The information we have to date indicates the case in question was likely to have been infected before they travelled to New Zealand and that the case is linked to the current Sydney cluster," Mr Hipkins said.
He said contact tracing was underway and the traveller had been spoken to last night and this morning.
He said four close contacts had gone into isolation and been tested and two of the tests had come back negative.
Alert level 2 means restrictions on gathering numbers and a renewed emphasis on social distancing. Face masks are compulsory on all public transport.
Mr Hipkins said it was the first time the alert level had been raised in response to the potential of an outbreak. The alert level 2 is one step short of a lockdown.
New Zealand has enjoyed nearly four months without any community transmission of coronavirus. Since the start of the pandemic, the country of 5 million people has recorded just 26 COVID-19 deaths.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the Sydney case had used the tracing app "extensively" while in Wellington, which had been an enormous help to contact tracers.
Dr Bloomfield said authorities believed they had identified all the locations of interest and those have been published here.
New Zealand's national museum Te Papa is among the sites listed, as well as a number of restaurants, stores and tourist spots.
Te Papa estimates about 2,000 to 2,500 people passed through the museum during the time the infected Sydney traveller visited.
It said up to 600 people visited the Surrealist Art exhibition between 4:00pm and 5:45pm on Saturday June 19 when the traveller was there. Those people are required to follow ministry of health guidelines and self-isolate for 14 days.
"I'm confident that if we do all the things we have done in the past, if people do what is asked of them, we will reduce the risk," Dr Bloomfield said.
New Zealand paused the quarantine-free travel bubble with NSW last night — before it was made aware of the case that visited from Sydney.
The pause took effect from midnight last night and will be in place for 72 hours, but that will be reviewed.
Passengers who flew on the following flights at the listed times are considered a close contact and are advised to immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.
Friday, June 18
- QF163 (Qantas), Departing from Sydney at 7:05pm and arriving at Wellington on June 19 at 12:12am
Monday, June 21
- NZ247 (Air New Zealand), Departing Wellington at 10:13am and arriving in Sydney at 11:33am
ABC/Wires
